Device for automatically removing window cutouts from blanks



Oct. 28, 1952 A. PELIKAN 2,615,376

DEVICE FOR AUTOMATICALLY REMOVING WINDOW CUTOUTS FRQM BLANKS Filed Jl me 9, 1949 I 2 Sl'lEETS-'SHEET l N V EN TOR.

w I ALEXANDER PEL/KA/V BY \f hwm &

\ ATTORNEYS A. PELIKAN Oct. 28, 1952 DEVICE FOR AUTOMATICALLY REMOVING wmoow CUTOUTS FROM BLANKS Filed June 9, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 FIG.2.

. INVENTOR. ALEXA lVDE/Z PEL IKAN ATTOENEYS Patented Oct. 28, 1952 IiEvIoE For; AUTOMATICALLY REMOVING WINDOW CUTOUTS FROM BLANKS Alexander Pelikan; New York, N. Y., assig'nor to Federal Carton Corporation, North Bergen, N. L. a corporation of New York Application June 9, 1949, Serial No. 98,038

tapes deliver each sheet of cardboard to a cylinder which is provided with gripping means for engaging the front or forward edge of the sheet. A die is disposed below the cylinder and is provided with a series of blades which slit and score each sheet, thereby providing a plurality of box blanks interconnected by waste areas. Each sheet is fed through an arc of 360 by the cylinder and the cut and scored sheet of cardboard is delivered to an auxiliary set of delivery tapes which are also spaced laterally from each other.

It is frequently necessary to provide one or more walls of the cardboard box with cut-outs in order to provide window openings. Heretofore, it has been the practice to remove the pieces of cardboard corresponding to the cut-outs by means of manually operated hammers or in a punch press. By either of these methods,- it has been possible to strip a pile of superposed sheets.

Several attempts have been madeto eliminate the expense of the stripping operation. For example, it has been attempted to remove the pieces of cardboard which correspond to the window cut-outs by means of air pressure.-

It has also been attempted to use air pressure in the cutting and greasing press,; together with stripping rods which remove the pieces of cardboard after they have been forced downwardly by means of air pressure. Neither of these attempts has proven practicable onalarge scale commercialbasis.

Accordingly, it is aprimary object of the present invention to provide simple and efficient means for automatically stripping. the cut-out areas of blanked sheets as'the' sheets are individwhy and successively fed from the die-cutting means in a continuous operation;

Another object of the invention is the provision of a stripping device of the character indicated which may be readily attached to standard types of machines for cutting and scoring sheetsof material without substantial modification there-' According to the proposed idea; a series of wheels or drums may be disposed above the main sheetrevolving cylinder of tnemacnine; eitherdi-rectly aboveor',- alternatively} abbve and for Wardly of the cyl indefl- Each of these diinhs is' 2 Claims. (Cl. 93 -36) 2 provided with one or more radially extending projections or segments which correspond in contour to a respective cut out formed in the blank and which serve to remove a piece of cardboard as the sheet is fed beneath the drums.- The projections or segments may be made from sponge rubber or other yieldable, resilient material. Depending upon the particular design of the box in a given case, there may be one or more drums for each box blank. Below the drums, a rigid support is provided for the feeding tapes in order to provide an abutment for the pressure ofthe drum projections. The pieces of cardboard are forced out between the laterally spaced tapes and are collected upon a pan or chi'ite which is disposed above the die-cutting means. Further protection for the die-cutting inea-ns' is preferably provided in the form of an endless belt which discharges the waste pieces outside the machine.

The foregoing objects as well as additional objects and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent inlthe course of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate apreferred embodiment of the invention,- and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a device in corporating the features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional. view taken on line 2"-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective'view, partly broken away, or one of the drums illustrating the manner of mounting the radially extending stripping pro-' jections or knock-out heads thereupon.

Referring now to the drawings in greater de tail, Fig. 1- illustrates a sheet I of the material which is employed for making the boxes, the sheet being of predetermined length and width. The sheets are picked up individually from a table (not shown) The sheet has a forward edge la and a rear edge It; The roll lisintermittent- 1y actuated in the conventional manner. Also, by suitable conventional means,- each sheet I is applied to the roll 2 which feeds the sheet in the direction shown by thearrow. A plate 51's moved up and down in intermittent strokes in synchronization with the intermittently actuated roll- 2.

I Plate 5 is provided with the usual dies, which are portion 4 which must be removed in order to form the window cut-out.

Fig. L ShOW'Sa Shaft 6' may be' drivenby any suitable means, such as the belt 1 and pulley 1a, from the main drive of the machine. Shaft 6 is provided with bearings supported in bearing plates 8 which are fixed to the frame F of the machine. A plurality of drums 9 are fixed to shaft 6. Each drum makes one revolution for each revolution of the roll 2. As best shown in Fig. 4, each drum 9 is in the form of a disc-plate 90. carrying a laterally extending annular flange at the periphery of the plate, thus producing the effect of a disc supported ring.

Each drum 9 is further provided with a series of peripheral slots II). The radially extending knock-out heads or projections II are provided with shanks I Ia which may be adjustably secured in selected slots I by suitable clamping means, such as nuts I 2, for which purpose shanks IIa are externally threaded. After the sheet I of.

material has been acted upon by the die-cutting means to form the blanks 3 therein, the sheet is fed between the drums 9 and the conveyor tapes I 4. Said conveyor tapes are of the usual type. Said conveyor tapes are endless and are supported on pulleys I5, roller I517, and additional pulleys (not shown) which are provided at the front of the machine. As the sheet passes between the drums 9 and the conveyor tapes I 4, the

knock-out heads II strike the window portions- 4a and eject said window portions from the blank 3. The window portions do fall between the spaced parallel tapes I I.

As indicated in Fig. 3, the knock-out heads II are unopposed by any die formation positioned under the sheet for cooperation with the heads in removing the cut-outs, thus differing from the usual practice. In the present structure, the sheet is unsupported directly below and in vertical alinement with the head, the support being provided by the adjacent tapes with their underlying extension plates I'Ia.

Means are provided for supporting the sheet I at each side of the knock-out head II in order to assure positive separation or stripping of the portions 4a from the blanks 3 as the sheet passes between the drums 9 and the conveyor tapes I4. As best shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the frame F of the machine is provided with a stationary support or rod .IB, which is provided with lugs I'I adjustably mounted on said rod. Each conveyor tape I4 passes slidably over a respective lug II. Each lug is preferablyprovided with a tapped bore and a clamping screw I8 for adjusting purposes, as shown in Fig. 2. Each lug I1 is also preferably provided with an extension plate Ila (see Fig. 2) along which each tape I4 slides below the respective drum 9. It will be readily understood upon referring to Fig. 3 that the knock-out heads cooperate with the sheet I to remove the window portions 4 and eject them between adjacent conveyor tapes I4 while said sheet is rigidly supported at each side of the knock-out head II by means of the supporting plate extensions Ila.

Fig. 1 shows a rocker shaft I9 which is oscillated from the main drive of the mechanism. For this purpose arms are fixed to shaft I9. One of said arms is pivoted to a link 2I. A plate 22 is adjustably fixed to link 2I by means of a clamping screw 23 whose shank extends through a slot in said plate- The plate 22 therefore has a slight back and forth movement due to the oscillation of link 2 I. A link 24 is pivotally connected at 25 to a. fixed stud carried by plate 22. The plate 22 is also given a slight up and down movement in addition to its back and forth movement due to the oscillation of shaft I9 thi vertical movement being imparted to link 24, which 7 link has a forked end 24a, tocause oscillation of the arm 26. The arm is freely pivotally mounted on the shaft 21. A pawl 29 is pivotally connected at 30 to arm 26 and successively engages the teeth of a ratchet wheel 28 fixed to shaft 21. By reason of the described arrangement the rocking movement of the arm 26 is accompanied by intermittent rotation of the shaft 21.

Fig. 1 illustrates the cut-outs 4a which correspond to the window openings 4. These cutouts 4a which are punched or stripped from the blanks 3 of sheet I fall onto and slide down an inclined chute 3I and onto an endless belt 32 which is mounted on a pulley 33 of shaft 2'! and also on a companion pulley 33 of a companion shaft 21a. Shafts 21 and 21a are mounted in suitable bearings 21b. The waste material comprising cut-outs 4a. is thus carried to the waste receptacle B and the completed blanks with their window openings 4 are carried to the front of the machine, as shown clearly in Fig. 1. The bottom of chute 3| is preferably provided with a brush 3m whose bristles bear lightly against the top run of the belt 32. The arms 34 operate the conventional conveyor mechanism in the well-known manner for carrying the finished blanks forwardly to a receiving station (not shown).

By reason of the described arrangement, it is apparent that the waste areas or Window cutouts 4a may be easily removed from the blanks 3 formed in the sheet I during the passage of each sheet from the roll '2 to the front of the machine. The operation may be carried out smoothly and automatically and eliminates the cost and inconvenience of a separate stripping process such as has been necessary heretofore in conventional practice. Moreover, the device of the present invention is constructed and arranged in such a manner that it may be readily attached to standard machines which cut and score sheets without substantial modification thereof.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that numerous changes, omissions and additions may be made without departing from its scope.

I claim:

1. Means for removing window areas from blanks wherein the outlines of the window areas had been previously scored, said means comprising' at least a pair of conveyor tapes for the blanks and at least one drum member, said drum member being rotatively supported and positioned above and intermediate the pair of tapes, said tapes being widely laterally spaced from the drum, said drum being above the path of travel of a succession of window areas, window knockout elements carried by and projecting radially outward from the periphery of said drum member, said knock-out elements being positioned to engage the window areas and force the same downwardly out of the blanks, and narrow supporting members abutting the lower surface of each of the tapes in the region beneath the axis of the drum and substantially of the width of the tapes, each supporting member lying to the side of the path of travel of said knock-out elements, the window areas being removed solely by the action of the knock-out elementsand the resistance to downward displacement of the blanks afforded by the tapes and their underlying supporting members.

2. Means for removing window areas from blanks wherein the outlines of the window areas had been previously scored, said means comprising at least a pair of conveyor tapes for the blanks and at least one drum member, said drum member being rotativelysupported and positioned above and intermediate the pair of tapes, said tapes being widely laterally spaced from the drum, said drum being above the path of travel of a succession of window areas, window knockout elements carried by and projecting radially outward from the periphery of said drum member, said knock-out elements being positioned to engage the window areas and force'the same downwardly out of the blanks, and narrow supporting members abutting the lower surface of each of the tapes in the region beneath the axis of the drum and substantially of the width of the tapes, each supporing member lying to the side of the path of travel of said knock-out elements, and an inclined plate extending beneath the tapes and receiving the cut-outs from the blanks.

ALEXANDER PELIKAN.

The following references are of record in the REFERENCES CITED file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

